Whales and Marines Mammals

The Winter Bay left Iceland on June 4 with a little less than 2000 tons of whale meat in destination to Japan. Iceland is with Norway the only country next to the European Union authorizing whaling.

The European Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and wild fauna and flora stipulates that Member States should prohibit the transport of specimens of all cetacean species living or dead or of by-products.

In fact, the Winter Bay came to be sold by its Norwegian ship-owner to a Latvian ship-owner, Aquaship Ltd. based in Riga. Latvia is a member of the European Union since 2004.

“On the Trail” n°8 is now available.Information and analysis bulletin on animal poaching and smuggling The wildlife crime scene of January, February and March 2015 through 500 events across the 5 continents. 108 pages PDF, 5MB
Whales and marine mammals, pages 6 and 7

An immersion in the war of rhino horn and ivory, a focus on the latest tricks of traffickers who hide ivory in medical plaster or milk powder, stuff reptiles and frogs in books for children and cigarette packet, paint leopard skins in tiger skins to maximize profits. An encounter with torn families of poachers, with teachers, scholars and vicars who teach and preach during the day and traffic at night…

Two joyful major events simultaneously occurred and must be celebrated.

1 – For the first time in 27 years, Japan has been banned from harpoon fishing whales in Antarctica. Hundreds of sea mammals thus avoid suffering from pain and death, thanks to a brittle but tangible truce allowing southern hemisphere whales to finally be given a blow-er.

2 –Tamil Nadu’s (India) 98 domestic elephants are on vacation from December 11, 2014, to January 27, 2015. They’ve all been trucked and gathered into two camps – one for religious-use elephants, one for forest landscaping-use elephants – to undergo rejuvenation and physical and mental health monitoring. Meanwhile, mahouts are taught how to better take care of their pachyderms.

Open parcels and find poisonous scorpions, search a shop in Malaysia and stumble on a vial of elephant sperm, find out about the latest trafficker’s tricks, meet the rhino mafia, hunt the MGM lion and discover the Tibetan Wild Ass, or Kiang.

Introduction: Several recent studies suggest that violence on animals and abuse of animal’s weakness show predisposition to violence against humans and that witnessing domestic violence or being submitted to parental harassment leads to a predisposition to violence against animals. Violence is a viral and vicious circle …

Numerous messages have been sent to Robin des Bois from Africa, Asia, Europe and the American continent. They come from Custom officers, CITES delegates, governmental institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations and from the general public. They all testify to the usefulness of “A la Trace” and the English version “On the Trail”, », Information and analysis bulletin on animal poaching and smuggling.

All dials are in the red. On the endangered species market prices are soaring. China and the world exotic pet trade are weighing heavily. The red-fronted parrot in Congo smuggled by Blue Helmets are sold for 800 US$ on Internet. Rhino horns reach 100,000 US$/kg, leopard skin more than 30,000 US/$. Mumbai golden youth gets high on cobra venom (180,000 US$/l). Isilo, the elephant who became a symbol of South Africa, is dead. His 2 tusks worth 600,000 US$ have disappeared. Poachers were the first to find his body by spotting the vultures. Suspicion lingers. Daytime rangers become night-time poachers. Prices go wild, the violence does also. Animals, thieves and rangers fall. Traffickers kill each other like traffickers of a drug cartel. Gangs rule, gangrene thrives. This is war. Justice is incoherent. From severe punishment to set an example to a mere bail, justice sometimes goes astray. Traffickers are often very young. Poachers ride BMWs. Killing methods are both modern and archaic.

The International Court of Justice ordered Japan to stop its whaling program JARPA II and therefore cease all whaling activities in the Antarctic. Since 1987, Japan has killed over 10,000 whales in the Southern Seas.

In its decision delivered this morning, at The Hague, the Court declared that the “scientific whaling” program in Antarctica, as it has been designed and implemented by Japan, entails a disproportionate number of whales hunted and killed. According to the Court, Japan did not provide adequate explications to justify the lethal take of whales particularly minke whales. The Court pointed out that the number of whales killed under the framework of “Japanese scientific whaling” is offset by financial reasons. The product from treating whales – which is to say the commercialization of whale meat – finances the whaling campaign carried out by the factory ship the Nisshin Maru and support vessels.

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Robin des Bois was founded in France in 1985 by pioneers of environmental protection. The NGO’s orientation is decided on by a board elected by the member’s General Assembly and carried out by 8 full-time staff members with multidisciplinary skills. Robin des Bois’ objective is the protection of Man and the Environment by means of all forms of research and non-violent action. Words are our only weapon. On ground investigations, bibliographic synthesis, publishing reports, press releases, letters to authorities, regular participation to a dozen institutional consulting groups and international conventions: we are at work with our grey matter, solid boots and a good dose of flair. We put forward technical, historical, geographical, sometimes philosophical arguments, with a strong will to remain concrete and constructive.
Robin des Bois is supported by a national and international network of supporters and professionals in areas such as the maritime community, anti-environmental criminality, risk management, waste and polluted sites. The NGO is not affiliated to any political party. Our campaigns require perseverance and are to be carried out over the long term. Robin des Bois also takes legal action and part took in the success of the historical law suit concerning the Erika oil spill, and such without the help of a lawyer. The NGO is in France accredited for the protection of the environment.